Two months after the executive order on the resumption of 24-hour operation in the ports, operators in the maritime sector have not complied to the directive.
The government agencies who were asked to vacate the ports to facilitate a seamless business operation are still fully operational. The officials of the Standard Organisation of Nigeria (SON), the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), the Nigerian Agricultural Quarantine Service (NAQS) are going about their businesses as if there is nothing at stake.
NDLEA had vehemently protested its exclusion saying that it has a constitutional right to remain in the ports. The chief executive of the agency, Muhammad Abdallah, threatened legal action for any attempt to exclude his agency from operating in the ports
“The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) will take legal action against any act of misinformation calculated to obstruct its activities at the seaports” the chief executive, said in a statement.
According to him, the agency would remain vigilant in preventing the use of the seaports for drug trafficking.
“The operations of the NDLEA at the seaports is statutory and it is pertinent to set the records straight.
This clarification is imperative in the light of conflicting reports intended to mislead members of the public on the official position” he said, claiming that its activities at the ports had been endorsed by the federal government in an executive order issued by acting president, Professor Yemi Osinbajo.
Apart from the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) who does skeletal rotational operations in the night, all other operators shut down operations by 6 O’clock
The operators said that it does not make any business sense to run generator 24 hours when business activities are at their lowest ebb. (The Sun)
